It's a sunny, lazy July afternoon, and you're planning a sunset picnic with your closest girlies. You and the girlies (of varied gender) have all just come from the Barbenheimer double feature, dressed in pink and ready for a warm evening sipping rosé wine under the purple-and-pink Barbielicious clouds above Montreal. Where you will go for a reliable, affordable, delicious rosé is a mystery, and the movie-drunk, laughing girlies aren't helping whatsoever — they just want to yell, "HI, BARBIE!" to every other person in pink walking through the park.
You don't want a good, cheap, red wine and you don't want a good, cheap, white wine. You want an affordable rosé wine. Enter this list, a brief roundup of the SAQ's best and highest-rated rosés, with more than four stars and costing less than $20 so you can afford to pick up a few bottles — a flight of pink to match your fits. You scroll down and pick the prettiest bottle, brushing thoughts of the atom bomb out of your mind as you readjust your bangs. It's going to be perfect.
Château La Lieue Coteaux Varois en Provence 2022
Château La Lieue Coteaux Varois en Provence 2022
Price: $18.95
Rating: 4.6/5
Pairing Notes: This Cinseau-Grenache blend features airy and fruity notes, pairing well with fresh seafood and a light salad. Cinseau wines tend to pair better with "lightly-flavored dishes including cream sauces, seafood, lean proteins, and crisp veggies," according to one wine blog. Grenache lends itself well to pairings "with aromatic spices and nightshades (you know! tomato, red pepper, eggplant…)," Wine Folly cutely remarks.
Famille Gassier Buti Nages
Famille Gassier Buti Nages
Price: $17.05
Rating: 4.6/5
Pairing Notes: This spiced, citrusy rosé holds up well with a cheese board and charcuterie, making it perfect for an evening picnic in the park. Plus, there's a little pink on the label, so it'll match the fits.
Gérard Bertrand Côte des Roses
Gérard Bertrand Côte des Roses
Price: $19.60
Rating: 4.9/5
Pairing Notes: A blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah grapes, this wine is citrusy with notes of strawberry, pairing nicely with salmon and fresh salads. The bottle is also very cute, which helps.
Le Pive Gris Sable de Camargue
Le Pive Gris Sable de Camargue
Price: $17.35
Rating: 4.5/5
Pairing Notes: A Grenache, Grenache gris, Merlot and Syrah blend, this mixed rosé is versatile and acidic with low sugar content, pairing well with crab cakes, smoked eel or even garlic butter-coated snails.
S. de La Sablette Coteaux Varois en Provence
S. de La Sablette Coteaux Varois en Provence
Price: $18.10
Rating: 4.4/5
Pairing Notes: Another Grenache-heavy blend, this rosé features notes of strawberry, raspberry and "exotic fruits," pairing well with Greek salad or a light fish mousse, if that's even a little bit up your alley. It is certainly not up mine.
Bonny Doon Vineyard Vin Gris de Cigare 2022
Bonny Doon Vineyard Vin Gris de Cigare 2022
Price: $18.95
Rating: 4.9/5
Pairing Notes: More Cinsault than Grenache, this blend is a dry, less fruit-heavy and sweet with more of an herbal character. It would pair better with "principally light salads, light pasta and rice dishes, especially with seafood, raw and lightly cooked shellfish and grilled fish and goats’ cheeses," according to matchingfoodandwine.com.
Château Beaulieu
Château Beaulieu
Price: $18.05
Rating: 4.5/5
Pairing Notes: A primarily Grenache mix, this rosé is blended with cabernet-sauvignon which gives it depth and minerality. The floral notes would pair well with a grilled vegetable salad or hummus and corn tortillas.
Château Grand Escalion Costières de Nîmes 2022
Château Grand Escalion Costières de Nîmes 2022
Price: $17.45
Rating: 4.6/5
Pairing Notes: Mostly Grenache with some Cinsault, this very popular rosé blends well with Sprite, according to one excited SAQ reviewer. But like most rosés on this list, it's a great sipping wine for your sunset picnic, so take a deep breath and know that no matter what you choose, you'll be making good memories — as long as you don't buy a bottle each.
Gérard Bertrand Pays d'Oc Gris Blanc 2022
Gérard Bertrand Pays d'Oc Gris Blanc 2022
Price: $15.60
Rating: 4.8/5
Pairing Notes: This dry, French rosé is all Grenache (with some Grenache gris for variety), pairing well with spicier dishes, shellfish, and tagines, according to bienmanger.com.
Cazal Viel Vieilles Vignes
Cazal Viel Vieilles Vignes
Price: $13.45
Rating: 4.7/5
Pairing Notes: Primarily Cinsault with some Syrah, this blend is spicy and very dry, making it a good choice for Southern French cuisine and Northern Italian and Spanish dishes, according to Wine Folly.
Beringer Main & Vine White Zinfandel
Beringer Main & Vine White Zinfandel
Price: $11.90
Rating: 4.4/5
Pairing Notes: This Californian table wine is sweet and floral, with notes of rhubarb. It would pair well with a mildly sweet dessert or charcuterie, chicken alfredo or a grilled kebab. Some SAQ reviewers complain about the sweetness of this wine, which can read to wine aficionados as amateurish. But sweet means tasty, and tasty means happy friends, so take those negative reviews with a grain of salt sugar.
What foods pair well with rosé?
Thankfully, there are enough types of rosé that you can find the perfect one for nearly any dish. Wine Folly lays out some of the basics of pairing wines in general, and these apply to your favourite rosés, too. Here are Wine Folly's nine wine pairing rules of thumb:
Taking these guidelines and running with them is a great way to get better at organically choosing the right wine for your occasion!